Holocene Reef Growth Rates and Facies from 61 Drill Holes in the Great Barrier Reef

61 drill holes into 24 reefs across the Great Barrier Reef provide data on reef growth over the past 8-9000 years, with nearly 250 radiocarbon dates. Analysis delineates five major biosedimentologic facies and quantifies their depositional rates, which vary from 1 to 18 meters per 1000 years. The data was collected by scientists from the Bureau of Mineral Resources and James Cook University over a five-year period.

Use Cases

• Modeling reef accretion rates based on quantified growth rates for different facies and reef margins.
• Analyzing latitudinal and regional variations in reef composition based on the described facies distribution.
• Studying the relationship between sea-level rise and reef initiation lag using the provided chronology.
• Comparing depositional environments based on the rates for sand flat progradation, storm sedimentation, and high-energy events.

Strengths

• Data from 61 drill holes across 24 reefs provides spatial coverage.
• Nearly 250 radiocarbon dates offer a detailed chronological framework.
• Quantified growth rates for five distinct facies and multiple reef environments.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Data is presented in PDF/HTML formats, which may require extraction for computational analysis.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data, based on work by the Bureau of Mineral Resources and James Cook University.

Collection Method

Scientific drilling and core analysis, with radiocarbon dating.

Time Range

Holocene, with reef initiation around 8-9000 years B.P.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-30 13:37:43.483250; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Great Barrier Reef Province, between 15°30'S and 25°50'S.